1. Final Fantasy VII - Despite the bashing it gets in other forums it remains my favorite FF game and it was my introduction to the JRPG market and I loved every minute of it.

2. Final Fantasy VI - I actually like this as much as FFVII, but I only had pleasure of playing this little gem when the main reason I bought it was to play the FFX demo that came bundled with it, which is ironic since I much prefer FFVI to X. Fantastic characters, great pacing and an excellent story.

3. Final Fantasy VIII - Not the most popular of the series because admittedly it is lacking a few things, but I still enjoyed very much it nonetheless, I loved its setting, character designs and the opening scene and music was superb.

Least favourites

1. Final Fantasy XII - Weak storyline and very weak characters, with whom I assume Square-Enix intended to be more realistic but shot themselves in the foot when the characters lacked any real empathy for what was going on around them, there is also quite a bit left unexplained. I also hated Vaan as a lead character I found quite immature for a 17 year old.

2. Final Fantasy X - I still enjoyed this game somewhat but the fact that I didn't really like Tidus at all as a lead character and the loss of a world map was quite disappointing for me.

3. Final Fantasy IX - Again another game that I generally enjoyed but the lack of an enjoyable lead in Zidane was a disappointment, although I do love Vivi.

Now I think about it, FF IX didn't have that many references to old FF games. Other than things like the aforementioned Cloud thing, Excalibur II, the four Fiends from FF IV, and the odd bit of music (like Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony), there wasn't any more fan service than in other FF games. It /didn't/, for instance have Gilgamesh (though Excalibur II is a Gilgamesh reference), or an Ultima/Omega Weapon boss.

Now I think about it, FF IX didn't have that many references to old FF games. Other than things like the aforementioned Cloud thing, Excalibur II, the four Fiends from FF IV, and the odd bit of music (like Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony), there wasn't any more fan service than in other FF games. It /didn't/, for instance have Gilgamesh (though Excalibur II is a Gilgamesh reference), or an Ultima/Omega Weapon boss.

It did have an Ultima Weapon weapon though. FFIX was also the last FF to have Odin in it, if my memory is correct.

In FF9, one of the biggest nods to an old FF game was in the enchanted forest when Garnet had to piece together parts of a story. Said story was the plot for FF2.

Even though I didn't know that initially, it was still pretty cool. FF9 had plenty of easter eggs to reward longtime FF fans and even newer FF fans could enjoy the classically styled adventure and a few easter eggs referring to FF7 and 8 too.

To me, even though FF7 was one of the ultimate RPG experiences, I thought FF9 was the ultimate Final Fantasy experience.

Now I think about it, FF IX didn't have that many references to old FF games. Other than things like the aforementioned Cloud thing, Excalibur II, the four Fiends from FF IV, and the odd bit of music (like Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony), there wasn't any more fan service than in other FF games. It /didn't/, for instance have Gilgamesh (though Excalibur II is a Gilgamesh reference), or an Ultima/Omega Weapon boss.

It did have an Ultima Weapon weapon though. FFIX was also the last FF to have Odin in it, if my memory is correct.

Oh yeah it was, forgot about that. FF X has Yojimbo, who is clearly Gilgamesh under a different name, and XII's espers were more like the Tactics summons.

Quite clever that thing about the story. I guess now I never have to finish FF 2 ever. That's good, I think.

I think there were just as many references to past FF games in 12 as there were in 9. The bad guys' airships were all named after the "proper" FF summons - Leviathan, Ifrit, Shiva and even

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Bahamut

were referenced like that - the good guys' airships were named after people from past FF games (Garland and Galuf), and plus Gilgamesh was in it, complete with Buster Sword, Gun Blade, Water Blade (and the Tournesol) along with a dog like Yojimbo. And pretty much all the weapons had been in FF games before. Also, a lot of the Espers were from the Tactics games.

So if FF 9 is the ultimate FF experience, then FF 12 would be the ultimate FF Tactics experience.

except its not id take tactics over ff12 anyday.this is last im gonna say on this in this topic but i just dont get the ff7 was my first so its one of my favorites sentiment. dragon warrior was my first rpg but its pretty far down there on my list.

back to FF9Zidane = Terra?Beatrix = Celes?

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“Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from.”

this is last im gonna say on this in this topic but i just dont get the ff7 was my first so its one of my favorites sentiment. dragon warrior was my first rpg but its pretty far down there on my list.

I should have been clearer in my post, the reason I like FFVII isn't because it was my first RPG, it is my first RPG, I mentioned it because it coincidentally introduced me to my favourite genre back in 1997, so I thought it deserved a nod for that.

On the same note since the Final Fantasy series seems to be a popular topic here I thought I'd bring up the Final Fantasy retrospective series that's been popping up on Gametrailers over the last few weeks. It's a nice little nostalgic dive into the past. It's currently on part 5 which covered FFVII.

You had two female interests for courtship (though by disc 2, it doesn't matter).

You had a brand-new magic customization system that allowed you to level your spells and then transfer the higher-levelled ones to characters who had never casted it before.

You had a storyline that started with a V for Vendetta-like arc that quickly became a much darker and more involving plot. Learning about the history of Sephiroth, the JENOVA Project and SOLDIER via Cloud's disturbing flashbacks really set the tone for this game.

The town near Gold Saucer you have to try to rescue from a runaway train. Chocobo raising. Gold Saucer minigames. Vincent's twisted tale. Fighting the pagoda bosses with Yuffie. All the JENOVA boss battles that you thought would be hard, but weren't. Getting Knights of Round. Bugenhagen and Red XIII. Marlene. The Turks' hijinks. The Zack story. Emerald Weapon's Air Tam Storm. Ruby Weapon's stupid tendrils. One Winged Angel. Tifa's love for Cloud despite his absentmindedness, and her obliviousness to the size of her rack. Don Corneo. Master Tonberry fights in the Northern Crater. The Temple of the Ancients. The village swallowed by the Lifestream.

I have to wonder about how much of the hate is warranted. Yeah, it was too overhyped for being some elusive Japanese only game, and the concept behind Exdeath is pretty fucking stupid, but it's hardly a bad game, and the story's not even that bad as long as you don't go in expecting something mindblowing... Though that's the other thing. The PSX version left a bad impression because of the horrendously painful translation (Y-burn rather than Wyvern? What the FUCK?) and loading times, but the GBA version fixed both of those and is much more enjoyable. Story's arguably better than IV's with less ridiculously over dramatic fake-death scenes and a few competently handled characters rather than several that are rapidly cycled through because of the aforementioned fake deaths. V doesn't have anything with the same effect as, say, Cecil becoming a paladin admittedly, but then I've only got up to

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Galuf's Death

in V.

Edit: Now that I think about it Ramza commented that we didn't receive it because it wasn't as good as IV/VI. I recall Ted Woolsey being interviewed about that, and it's incorrect. The job system was considered too complicated, and thus we got Mystic Quest instead. Seriously, that game alone shows that quality had little to do with missing it. :P

I liked the Aeris romance because it never really *happens*. It's all build up for most of the disc, and really subtle at that. Even the golden saucer is still mostly 'good friends,' maybe LEANING to being in love, but not all the way there. And right when it LOOKS like it's going to turn into this big thing -- Aeris is off on her own, Sephiroth is following here, and you sort of predict cloud'll rush in, save her, and be her knight in shining armor... instead she just dies. I thought it worked really well.

Mooooooooore importantly though, FFVII is, in comparison to, say, VI, VIII, X, and twelve sort of whimsical. Not in the way FFIX was -- which is something i also like a lot -- but more in... hrm... some other sense. I mean, a fort with a giant condor on it, or the golden saucer. That sort of crazy excess that you'd see more of in the early PSX and N64 days.

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V doesn't have anything with the same effect as, say, Cecil becoming a paladin admittedly

What was the effect of that supposed to be?

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o/` I do not feel joy o/`o/` I do not dream o/`o/` I only stare at the door and smoke o/`

im alarmed that pretty much everyones reasons for liking games relates to story and characters(only). perhaps thats why im at a loss for understanding. the way a character is presented in battle can go a long way in my like or dislike of them and most recent ff games the characters have no identity in battle. i think my obsession with battle systems and gamplay comes from shining force 2 being the first rpg i played that i really liked as well as my background with fighting games.

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“Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from.”

I don't buy that. I just don't think you've learned to appreciate literature. Call that flaming if you will, but I've not seen a reason to think otherwise. Even fighting games have stories and characters, so I can't see that as an excuse. You may not play games for the story, but that shows a serious flaw in appreciation. No one here is neglecting gameplay, keep in mind. FFV is often touted for its job system -- but a single feature cannot make a game good if everything else is out of whack or just damned mediocre.